1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for arranging and displaying objects and more particularly pertains to a new product shipping and display system for attachment to a plurality of similar products for shipping and for displaying the products subsequent to shipping.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of devices for arranging and displaying objects is known in the prior art. More specifically, devices for arranging and displaying objects heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known product display systems include elongate display structures to which a plurality of products are attached at locations along the length of the elongate structure for displaying the products in a linear array at a point of sale. However, the known elongate display structures have presented numerous problems to manufacturers and retailers.
If the products are attached to the display structure after shipping to the retailer, the retailer must devote an employee's time to attaching the products to the display structure. Preferably, the products are attached to the display structure prior to shipping the products to the retailer. However, if the products are attached to the display structure at some point prior to shipping, then shipping can be a problem if conventional shipping packaging, such as generally cubical boxes, are used. Special and generally non-standard packaging containers, such as long and thin and flat boxes, are generally required for shipping the products and the elongate display structures. Because of this special packaging requirement, the product must often be moved to a location relatively remote from the manufacturing location for the process of attaching the products to the strip and the specialized packaging process. This adds further expense to shipping costs, especially when the products must be packaged in conventional boxes for shipping between the factory and the place of attaching the products to the display structure and final packaging for shipping to the retailer.
As yet a further complication, if the products are not of a generally flat nature, each product must often be attached to a specialized card or other packaging device primarily for the purpose of permitting the product to be feasibly attached to the display structure.
The aforementioned factors, among others, have made the use of elongate display structures cumbersome and unnecessarily expensive for the manufacturer and the retailer.